HOW TO CONTROL THE NEW EPIDEMIC: OBESITY

AND OVERWEIGHT?
By Laura Natalia Benavides Ariza
Centro Colombo Americano
Challenge 3 (8am-10am)

My position paper is about how fast and low

quality food can affect the public health.
Nowadays, a majority of people don’t care about
their health, and cases of obesity and other
illneses associated with bad food habits have
increased around the world and in Colombia. So,
According to WHO (World Health Organization)
in my opinion, this kind of food should be
obesity and overweight cause the death of more
prohibited.
tan 4 million people around the world annually.
Unfortunatelly in Colombia, by 2015 27% percent
In the 21st century people have a busy life, they
of adult people have overweight and 19% percent
work, study, have family, pets and many
have obesity, although, by 2017 the porcentage of
responsibilities, so, the last thing that they think of
obese people had increased to 60% percent. In
is what food they’re eating. However, when
adittion, 25% percent of Colombian children have
normal people are on the Street and they’re
this problem, so, there are so young people with
hungry, they easily eat the first thing that they find
illneses associated to obesity. The more obese you
without thinking about the consequences. A busy
are, the less you will live; according to specialists a
life, cultural factores and budget have made
person who has obesity could live five years less
people to have awful eating habits.
and it is not a crazy idea keeping in mind that
illneses like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart
problems, high levels of cholesterol and
triglycerides and cáncer are associated with
overweight.

According to statistics, almost 40% percent of

Colombian people eat more than once a week out
of home, from this group of people 6% have
breakfast, 72% lunch and 47% dinner out. Of them
prefer fast food 51% after casual food 43% and
finally formal restaurants 41%. Also, the more
people eat processed food, the less fruits and
vegetables they eat; according to survey of
nutritional situation, ENSIN, 2010, one every 3
people doesn’t eat vegetables every day and one
every 4 people eats fast food every week
(especially young people). In adittion, one every 5
people drinks carbonated beverage with high
quantity of sugar and one every 3 children eats
sweeties every day.
The more governments do campaings to promote
healthy food habits, the less people care about it,
so, governments around the world should
intervent radically to control this epidemic. In my
opinion, if fast food and proccesed food were
prohibited, the illneses associated with obesity
would be decreased. I think that it is the best way
to control the rate of death associate with
overweight, because even though there are
diferent campaings to promote a healthy life,
there are more and more sick people because of
eating unhealthy food year after year.